While the song is great on its own, the whole album Carolus Rex is a package deal for me. It is basically guiding you through the rise and fall of Sweden as a great power, from the 30 years war to their fate after Charles (although he is certainly the focus)
Yes, could not agree more. One of those albums where each song is better when you listen to the album as one complete musical work. The swedish version is my absolute favourite album from Sabaton
13 wins, 2 losses, and 1 "draw". These are the battles he was directly a part of. Of course there is probably some sieges he was a part of but the amount of those is unclear. The battles were against Denmark-Norway, Poland-Lithuania, Saxony and Russian empire.
The movie with that battle scene is a russian film called The Sovereign's Servant. It's about two french duelists who got punished by Louis XIV for dueling eachother, the punishment was to observe the war between Russia and Sweden. :D
While I as a swede really like learning about Carolus Rex, I feel many overlook his Father Charles XI. He was very much a man of the people, reformer and well versed in war. if you find a documentary about him I think you will really like it.
@@MonkeyBanjo7 Charles XI wasn't in many wars. He fought the Danes in the battle of Lund, which was one of the bloodiest battles in European history (in terms of percent casualties, not in numbers), and basically had his fill of war. From my understanding, he basically made it his life's mission to make the Swedish military powerful enough to deter any potential enemies from attacking. Which pretty much worked until he died and then... well, that's why we have this series :) As for him being a great general, I don't think he himself was the main commander of many battles as he was young at the time of the Scanian war with Denmark and had peace for the rest of his reign. He was mostly a reformer, but a pretty terrific one at that.
@@MonkeyBanjo7 Well, I'm a Swedish history fan and as the opening post suggests, Charles XI is one of the most underappreciated kings in Swedish history :)
Another thing to note about Charles not marrying. Charles was actually shy when it came to women. He was however devoted to his mother, grandmother and sisters. He was absolutely devastated when he learned of the death of one of his sisters that died during the war. Also, his father was 20 when he was married. At that point, Charles was 2 years into war. He didn't have much time to get married.
@@Toujeo Probably a speculation... Through his conversations with Count Axel Lowen, his eye for beautiful women were noted, but he was too religious to pursue them, like Emperor Basil II. But unlike Basil II who vowed never to marry, Karl XII wanted to marry, but only when he had brought peace to his nation
7:24 these scenes are from the Russian movie "The Souvereign's servant", which is about the battle of Poltava. It's a decent movie, but the actual battle is masterfully portrayed. Edit: 9:36 is also the answer to your question.
@@ore_red1684 It's somewhat biased, yes. But apart from the battle and war, the movie is actually about two french nobles who are forced to fight, one on either side.
I'm Norwegian and have been to Fredriksten festning. They have small waystones marking where the outmost Swedish trenches were, as well as a big stone supposedly on the spot where the King was killed. I will say, standing at the stone and looking towards the fortress, a distance of about 250m, it must have been a hell of a shot if it was the Norwegians. Especially considering it was around midnight, I dont see how it could have been deliberate, if it was indeed an enemy projectile. Which is also rather potent if you think about the perfect placement of the shot.
Given that the Norwegians didn’t stop shooting at the trenches until almost four days after the Swedes retreated because they did not realise there was no enemy army there anymore, I definitely lean toward the “random bullet fired from the fortress in the general direction of Sweden” side myself, rather than any notion of Norwegian sharpshooting skills. Shoot enough bullets, and eventually you are bound to hit something.
@@johanmilde It doesn’t helpt that the sources don’t illustrate the situation too well. Some say there was no firing at the time. Voltaire writes that the Norwegians were concentrating grapeshot on that particular section of the trench. One describes just hearing a ‘thud’ as if someone threw a stone into the mud. Presumably they would have heard a shot if someone shot the King point blank, but having stood on the ground, I also believe they would have heard the shot if it came from the fortress. Especially if it was a cannon firing grapeshot. The placement of the shot is what bugs me. If it came from the fortress that is beyond lucky. I mean, fire a musket into the dark and hit the Swedish King right in the temple? Even if it came from a cannon loaded with grapeshot. If not, I believe something transpired which has been lost to history. It’s truly one of the great mysteries. Unfortunately I don’t think there will ever be a definite conclusion.
@@Enigma_V Frequently, the stories surrounding the shot are more interesting for me than the actual truth of his death. There was a Norwegian posted on the walls, Jo Vedlo Hodne from Myking in Nordhordland, who according to local tales apparently went to his grave many years later wracked with guilt because he was certain that he had killed the king. Apparently, he felt guilty both for the death of a divinely appointed monarch, but also for all the Swedish soldiers who died in the retreat across the mountains from Trondheim. His guilt does not in any way mean that he actually did kill the king, though - it was dark, it was far, and they only learned of the king’s death several days after the fact, so it is incredibly likely that the story is simply the manifestation of the traumas of this random soldier. He was likely in the fortress during the siege, and the story of him firing his musket at something that moved in the trenches in the night is plausible, but proving that he actually hit anything and that the something was the king is impossible. Still, it is a rare tale of the small ordinary humans surrounding the large battles and the glorious kings, and how those large battles and glorious kings affect them.
@@johanmilde I’ve read about Jo Vedlo before. Very interesting story. Its not inconceivable, but highly(!) unlikely. We will never know for certain, unfortunately.
It wasnt a norwegian musket that killed him but a shot from a pistol besides the king. The bullet was a soldiers button fashioned into a round piece. He was shot at the dide tempel not the frontal lobe. So an assassin from Stockholm was mist likely the culprit
The battle scenes are from a Russian movie called "The sovereigns servant." The story itself is rather confusing and heavily russian biased (which is to be expected) however the battle scenes and costumes etc are amazing.
In case you didn't know: The album Carolus Rex was also recorded in Swedish, with the same songs but with Swedish lyrics (they slightly differ). En Livstid I Krig (Swedish version of A Lifetime At War) for example really beats the English version by miles lyric-wise. There's a live recording of this song from their latest tour in early 2020. I really recommend checking it out (with English subtitles on). The whole video is a masterpiece.
The reason Charles may have been assassinated is because he believed that since Sweden was in the right in this war, God in His Providence would not let Sweden lose, so Stockholm had to remove the one impediment to peace. Their king. Charles believed that somehow the war would turn around and Sweden would regain what was rightfully hers. When Charles spoke before the Swedish parliament before he went to war, he said "I have resolved never to start an unjust war, but never to end a legitimate one except by defeating my enemies." So in order to end the war, Charles had to win or die.
@@eemelilounela1212 Because Sweden did not want peace on Peter's terms. After Charles' death, peace negotiations started in earnest, but naturally Sweden wanted to save as much as they could. Also, Sweden hoped to have a western power dictate the peace to prevent Peter from controlling the peace process.
Might i recommend watching/Listening to the song by Sabaton called "The Caroleans prayer" That is one badass song and its about Carolus Rex's Soldiers and their strong belief in god.
For anyone who is interested: The screaming in the background after the chorus (in this video starting at 9:45 and in the original starting 3:13) is : Fr°amat karoliner fiendens dom är här! L°at oss krossa dom! Kasta in dom genom helvetens portar! Which directly translates to: Forward caroleans, the enemies are over there! Let's crush them! Throw them out through the gates of Hell!!
"Fiendens dom är här" översätts till "The enemy's judgment is here". Det syftar på en situation där fiendens dom eller straff är garanterad. Det har inget att göra med fiendens plats.
"Crowned by god not by the church As my power is divine" I think this line is a referance to how he himself placed the crown on his head instead of a priest doing it
If you go to Stockholm you should probably head over to Uppsala. In the Uppsala Domkyrka lies the tombs of some kings and queens (most notably Gustav Vasa) as well as Carl Linnaeus. And it's a gorgeous church as well (I am not religious but the architecture is super nice).
King Carl XII was not killed in Trondheim, but in a city further south called Fredrikshald ( now Halden) . In the song Long live the KIng, you hear more of his death, but in the song Ruina Imperii it mentions general Armfeldt who was in Trondheim. He had to take his part of the army and march home to Sweden because of king Carl's death. The march to Sweden was a disaster where over 800 soldiers froze to death, and another 1500 became disabled due to the cold.
Great reaction as always to Sabaton. This song was my introduction to them many many years ago and its still my favourite. Would love to see you react to "The carolean's prayer" some time, think you will like it and your take on the "see the white in their eyes" which only might have been a tactice used by the carolean army?
This is one of my absolute favorites. Listened it way too much while playing Europa Universalis 4. It just hits different while playing the game and also him sitting to the throne as early as age 14 reminds me of Mehmed The Conqueror Of Ottomans. (He was only 16 when he first rose to the throne and 21 when conquered Constantinople.)
Maybe do an reaction video or talk about the Swedish tactics that were very specific to Carl XII soldiers Caroleans (Karoliner). The tactic of “Gå på” or Go on in English. Fired their muskets close to the enemy and then pulled their swords to seek close quarter fighting and push on despite the numbers ahead of em. The Swedes understood the demoralizing effect of hand to hand combat. This tactic made it possible for em to time and time again beat units who had numeral advantage. The Carleans is a very interesting subjekt :)
interesting fact about this album: sabaton was actually persecuted in a way for the creation of this album, to the point of joakim being accused of being a neo nazi sympathizer, as karl xii has been used as a symbol for that group in recent years.
Thank you for making videos I love history so much and u make my love for it even more Bc u always know something cool that happened in history to go along with the video
You should check out “Caroleans Prayer” and “Ruina Imperii” from this same album. They follow up the story after his death. Awesome songs too but not as well known as the rest of the album.
I never know there's some song that both epic and educational at the same time, and your commentary detailed the complete picture of this figure. Thanks for sharing
I always like seeing stuff that was actually owned by historical figures in a museum. A bunch of years ago I went to the Hermitage in Amsterdam when they had an exhibit about Peter the Great and they had the saddle of Charles XII on display that they got from his horse after Poltava.
I was really looking forward for reaction to this song. My favourite song is Rorkes drift or Wolfpack, but Carolus Rex is surely in TOP 5. I looking forward to see this reaction video!
Ooh, that’s a cool cape. I’d be tempted to wear a replica as a Halloween costume, but it would have to be after work on Halloween, because showing up to a package-sorting job in a badass cape and boots would result in Edna Mode breathing down my neck at best
Btw quick point, he wasnt killed in Trondheim as you said, he was cilled at Fredrikshall or Fredriksteen festning depending what you want to call it. That fortress is in Halden, a city/town very close to the Swedish border in the southern part of Norway. Trondheim is quite a ways north, (middle of the country almost)
Yes this whole album is awesome imo as a Swede i feel much about this album. The movies in the video are 1st from the Swedish movie "Snapphanar" Were Gustaf Skarsgård plays Karl XI (Carolus Rex father who was the big innovator behind the Carolean standing army along with Karl X). 2nd the russian made movie Poltava. Both are good imo. By the time Carolus Rex (Karl XII) inherited the throne Sweden basically owned the baltic sea having land possessions in Germany, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Finland. Russia didnt have any large ports connected to the Baltic sea and the War was basically about stealing land from Sweden because they (Denmark, Poland/Sachsen and Russia) thought that because Karl XII was only a teen Sweden would have weak leadership. Karl XII not only were a great soldier and commander he instituted laws and process that we have today but modernised. He was ahead of his time and although he was a nationalist he was a great reformer who believed in a multicultural society. He promoted both German and french values and customs and invited nobles and great minds of the time to great seats in Sweden. Many dutchspeaking immigrants joined the Eas india company based from Gothenburg in Sweden.
@@janicaven7889 Yes im not saying Finnish regions were handled good. Just like Ukraine were handled badly as a border state by the russian leadrships. Ukraine means in russia borderland.
At 2:02. You see Gustav Skarsgård playing Karl XI (the dad to XII that the song is about), in the mini tv-series "Snapphanar" (2006). (The plot was about south Swedish rebels from the 1670's)
Really good song! I kind of see a couple of parallels between Carolus Rex and Alexander the great. Both took the throne young, both military geniuses with exceptionally disciplined soldiers, and both died young
On his death: He was almost killed a hundred times in battle before this, most likely hes luck just ran out. But who knows we can't know for certain. Sweden was seriously exhausted and at a breaking point by 1718 and yet the war lasted 3 more years after the death of the king. Many understod what the king would never admit, that the war was hopelessly lost. Sweden did not have the manpower to contest all her enemies at once. Sweden will still have to fight of the Russians outside Stockholm before people come to there senses and finally admit that the war is totally lost and territory will have to be abandoned. At the time the country had been at total war for 21 years, one third of all men in Finland and Sweden are dead Finland is occupied and the only people who keep the country going at all are the widows of a dead generation of men. Experiences like this are the reason Sweden has insisted on neutrality in war.
As a Swede, my first memory regarding Karl/Charles XII is when my mum told me about how her history teacher jokingly referred to him as "Kalle Dussin", which basically translates as "Charlie Dozen". ;p
Interesting thing about the lyrics about Charles being king comes straight from God and his power is divine, he is said to have taken the crown on his coronation from the hands of the priest or whatever and crowning himself since the power didn’t come from the church, they weren’t supposed to give him the power, it was already his since God gave it to him
The king was exiled to Ottoman Empire after he lost the war with Russia. He stayed pretty long time. His expenses during his long stay in the Ottoman Empire were covered by the Ottoman state budget, as part of the fixed assets (Demirbaş in Turkish), so as the Turks we know him with his nickname Demirbaş Şarl (Fixed Asset Charles). He effected Ottoman rulers and played a prominent role in start of Russia-Ottoman wars.
All the ministers, the French envoy and the soldiers followed him and headed for the coast under a hail of musket bullets. The King, who had never heard such shooting before, asked Major General Stuart what the muffled whistle was. "This is the sound of bullets flying at you." - "Fine! Karl exclaimed. "From now on, this will be my music." - Voltaire "The Story of Charles XII, King of Sweden".
Its always amazing to play as Carolus Rex in empire total war, the RP by itself its wonderfull, but the campaign its also really fun having to fight 2 major powers early on
Konungens Likfard and En livstid i krig, are my favorite songs from sabaton even though i dont understand swedish, would be nice to see a reaction from you! keep up the good work!
You mentioned the entrance wound being larger than the exit. This could be due to the fact that back then their projectiles weren't fired from rifled barrels. So the projectile could have been shrapnel that was tumbling awkwardly and enters lop sided and exited in a more straight course. Just a thought. Loved the video!
The movie is Poltava. And you should look at the 30-years war. Sabaton sings about that to on the same album and the start of the Swedish Empire and the king Gustav ll Adolf ( Gustavus adolphus).
Good video, but a little detail here that was wrong. Charles XII was not shot while besiging Trondheim, but Fredrikshald (today Halden) some 800km from Trondheim. The fortress where he was shot (Fredriksten) was also the location for the metal festival where I for the first time saw Sabaton live in 2014. The stage was apx 250m away from where historins think he fell
i dont know if has been mentioned but the movie itself is called "Sluga Gosudarev" or "The Sovereign's Servant" it is from 2007. Russian movie about the war against sweden in their big push towards Poltava
Battle scenes are from russian movie Sluga gosudarev/The Sovereign's Servant (2007). It's mainly about 2 french cavaliers, They fought for 1 woman, and are punished by king, who send them both as his emisars/observers to the northern war. One as a servant of tsar Peter the Great, one as servant of king Carolus. Others scenes I guess are from polish film Potop/The Deluge (1974), which is about different northern war. And second film of Hoffman triology about three main wars waged by Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 17th century (against Tatars, Sweds and Turks). For me, Deluge, about swedish war is a best part of triology.
The crown passed to his sister, Ulrika Eleonora, after he died. When she married, her husband Fredrik the first became king. And that was the first monarch not to be of the Vasa-family (or strongly related to Vasa) after Gustav Vasa himself.
First off, The movie you asked about I think is simply Called Poltava, if I recall correctly its a russian made film. Secondly, as a Swede I was taught in school that Carolus was shot by a button that had been converted into a bullet which can be seen at a museum here in Sweden and that we still dont know if he was shot by Norweigan or Swedish soldier. His death is still being investigated. And lastly, thank you for your videos, I have been following for awhile now and really like your content and insights into the subjects we watch here. Sadly, you didnt listen to the swedish version of this song, which in my opinion is best ;)
I must say, its really evident when they make the song in swedish and then translate it into english. Its even better in the original (swedish). I guess it comes down to differences in theme. Still a good song.
@traceurs619 This one is translated almost word for word. But that does not transfere all the sub-meanings in the wording. Things like gramatikal changes for effekts or the way using one particular word instead of another carries meaning is different in English and Swedish. Thats why its extreamly hard to get the same feeling in a translated song. But yes, you are right in that they sometimes change the text so the words are not the same but they tries to keep the feeling instead.
About four of my all time favourite Sabaton songs are on this album - Carolus Rex itself, En livstid i krig, Konungens likfärd and Lejonet från Norden. In Swedish, not English, naturally.
Hey Chris, love your videos. Big fan from brazil, it would mean a great deal to me to see you reacting to smoking snakes, a sabaton song about 3 brazilian soldiers who held a squad os germans to theirs last in italy
A point with "Not crowned by the church as my power is divine...." was Carolus Rex crowned himself which was a big scandal at the time. Sweden was also protestant so we were not under papal rule at the time.
Fun fact: In the beginning of the video we see Gustav Skarsgård, son of actor Stellan Skarsgård, as Karl XI (Karl XII's father), from the tv-series Snapphanar. So the beginning of the video is kind of mixing up stuff.
I dont know if someone in the comments already has answered your question bit the movie is called snapphanar it is on youtube actually and nowhere else and its for free. Its not about Charles XII its about the war between Sweden and Denmark Charles XII's father is in the movie though
From what I have read (quite new studies from what I know), they did a measurement of the wound of his corpse to see what kind of round could do the amount of damage and what velocity it would have to have... And the only thing they found was that it probably would have been a fragmentation round from a canon that hit him. Now if that is true or not, who knows....
O and if your interested in Swedish history. Check out the battle of Lund where his father was in command. 8000 Swedes vs 12 000 danish. You would be surprised how bloody the battle was. The Swedish king during the battle rode in front of the danish army to secure the flank, then road back. Or the march across the belt, where the Swedish army froze the sea to invade Denmark during the winter.
legend has it that he could not be killed by bullets. He would empty the lead out of his shoes after battle. So a Swedish battle tired soldier took a button from the kings own uniform and used that as a bullet to kill him
About 20 years ago I purchased VHS tape on the Life of Peter the Great. My kids swear that it was Peter's life in real time. The tape was at least 3 hours long and possibly 6 hours. It did have great fight scenes. The initial fight scenes you showed may have been from that movie. The uniforms were very well done as were the military formations. Also the actor appears to be the same that played Charles the XII.
If Im not mistaken, the swedes should have spears in those battle scenes? Used for their "gå-på" (keep on walking) strategy which served them well before except here(scene) in poltava... (Also the strategy of "gå-på" reminds me of the vikings svinfylking(boar snout) strategy to quickly break the enemies formation and cause disarray.)
Did you recognize "Floki" from "Vikings"?!😁 Well, Gustaf Skarsgård... Starring as king Karl XI in this video... (It is Karl XI, because the footage is from a movie, about the Danish guerilla army, during the war between Sweden and Denmark ).
While the song is great on its own, the whole album Carolus Rex is a package deal for me. It is basically guiding you through the rise and fall of Sweden as a great power, from the 30 years war to their fate after Charles (although he is certainly the focus)
What this guy said :)
Yes, could not agree more. One of those albums where each song is better when you listen to the album as one complete musical work. The swedish version is my absolute favourite album from Sabaton
How many battles did he win btw? He seems like he is a great genral?
Lion from the north, Twilight of the thundergod, Gott mit uns 🤤
13 wins, 2 losses, and 1 "draw". These are the battles he was directly a part of. Of course there is probably some sieges he was a part of but the amount of those is unclear. The battles were against Denmark-Norway, Poland-Lithuania, Saxony and Russian empire.
The movie with that battle scene is a russian film called The Sovereign's Servant. It's about two french duelists who got punished by Louis XIV for dueling eachother, the punishment was to observe the war between Russia and Sweden. :D
Something good about that movie is that the swedish soldiers speak swedish and the russian soldiers speak russian. Much more realistic
@@schtekken2089 I agree, though the way they pronounce the swedish words... you can really realize it's russian actors :'D
@@schtekken2089 Too bad everything else about it was utter arse, lol.
To bad that movie is so slanted towards Russia. They get so many facts wrong.
@@DominionSorcerer Yeah, it's mostly just russian propaganda.
While I as a swede really like learning about Carolus Rex, I feel many overlook his Father Charles XI. He was very much a man of the people, reformer and well versed in war. if you find a documentary about him I think you will really like it.
The scenes with Gustaf Skarsgård are from swedish movie Snapphanar :) about Karl XI
How many battles did he win btw? He seems like he is a great genral?
@@MonkeyBanjo7 Charles XI wasn't in many wars. He fought the Danes in the battle of Lund, which was one of the bloodiest battles in European history (in terms of percent casualties, not in numbers), and basically had his fill of war. From my understanding, he basically made it his life's mission to make the Swedish military powerful enough to deter any potential enemies from attacking. Which pretty much worked until he died and then... well, that's why we have this series :) As for him being a great general, I don't think he himself was the main commander of many battles as he was young at the time of the Scanian war with Denmark and had peace for the rest of his reign. He was mostly a reformer, but a pretty terrific one at that.
@@fanbuoy9234 Oh ok Thanks! :) You seem to know a lot about Charles XI.
@@MonkeyBanjo7 Well, I'm a Swedish history fan and as the opening post suggests, Charles XI is one of the most underappreciated kings in Swedish history :)
Putting this song into EU4 is one of the greatest moves Paradox Interactive have ever made.
Me vibing to this song while playing lions of the north as Sweden
Edit was a spelling error
Holy crap I never knew that!?
@@gryphonprovenzano3156 They also sell DLCs to add WW2 themed Sabaton songs into Hearts of Iron 4.
Another thing to note about Charles not marrying. Charles was actually shy when it came to women. He was however devoted to his mother, grandmother and sisters. He was absolutely devastated when he learned of the death of one of his sisters that died during the war. Also, his father was 20 when he was married. At that point, Charles was 2 years into war. He didn't have much time to get married.
yes he was probably gay
@@Toujeo Yeah probably
@@Toujeo Probably a speculation... Through his conversations with Count Axel Lowen, his eye for beautiful women were noted, but he was too religious to pursue them, like Emperor Basil II. But unlike Basil II who vowed never to marry, Karl XII wanted to marry, but only when he had brought peace to his nation
@@Toujeo Charles 12 was very religious and spiritual. There is evidence that he studied the Bible himself
7:24 these scenes are from the Russian movie "The Souvereign's servant", which is about the battle of Poltava. It's a decent movie, but the actual battle is masterfully portrayed. Edit: 9:36 is also the answer to your question.
It's a good looking battle, but tactically it's all wrong on how the armys fought.
@@ThorSuzuki1 Well yes, it's a great movie battle. Tactically it just follows the general outline of what happened.
Is the Swedes the evil in this movie?
@@ore_red1684 It's somewhat biased, yes. But apart from the battle and war, the movie is actually about two french nobles who are forced to fight, one on either side.
Uq
One of my favourite Sabaton songs. I don’t know Swedish at all, but this one hits waaaay harder in Swedish, recommend to anyone to check it out!
I learn a bit of Swedish from Swedish patriotic songs or from ikea
@@randomyankee8923 Ikea plays patriotic Swedish songs? Wtf? As a Swede that makes me very uncomfortable.
@@karl-erikmumler9820 You didn't read my comment correctly
I'm Norwegian and have been to Fredriksten festning.
They have small waystones marking where the outmost Swedish trenches were, as well as a big stone supposedly on the spot where the King was killed.
I will say, standing at the stone and looking towards the fortress, a distance of about 250m, it must have been a hell of a shot if it was the Norwegians.
Especially considering it was around midnight, I dont see how it could have been deliberate, if it was indeed an enemy projectile. Which is also rather potent if you think about the perfect placement of the shot.
Given that the Norwegians didn’t stop shooting at the trenches until almost four days after the Swedes retreated because they did not realise there was no enemy army there anymore, I definitely lean toward the “random bullet fired from the fortress in the general direction of Sweden” side myself, rather than any notion of Norwegian sharpshooting skills. Shoot enough bullets, and eventually you are bound to hit something.
@@johanmilde It doesn’t helpt that the sources don’t illustrate the situation too well. Some say there was no firing at the time. Voltaire writes that the Norwegians were concentrating grapeshot on that particular section of the trench.
One describes just hearing a ‘thud’ as if someone threw a stone into the mud.
Presumably they would have heard a shot if someone shot the King point blank, but having stood on the ground, I also believe they would have heard the shot if it came from the fortress. Especially if it was a cannon firing grapeshot.
The placement of the shot is what bugs me.
If it came from the fortress that is beyond lucky. I mean, fire a musket into the dark and hit the Swedish King right in the temple? Even if it came from a cannon loaded with grapeshot.
If not, I believe something transpired which has been lost to history.
It’s truly one of the great mysteries. Unfortunately I don’t think there will ever be a definite conclusion.
@@Enigma_V Frequently, the stories surrounding the shot are more interesting for me than the actual truth of his death.
There was a Norwegian posted on the walls, Jo Vedlo Hodne from Myking in Nordhordland, who according to local tales apparently went to his grave many years later wracked with guilt because he was certain that he had killed the king. Apparently, he felt guilty both for the death of a divinely appointed monarch, but also for all the Swedish soldiers who died in the retreat across the mountains from Trondheim.
His guilt does not in any way mean that he actually did kill the king, though - it was dark, it was far, and they only learned of the king’s death several days after the fact, so it is incredibly likely that the story is simply the manifestation of the traumas of this random soldier. He was likely in the fortress during the siege, and the story of him firing his musket at something that moved in the trenches in the night is plausible, but proving that he actually hit anything and that the something was the king is impossible. Still, it is a rare tale of the small ordinary humans surrounding the large battles and the glorious kings, and how those large battles and glorious kings affect them.
@@johanmilde I’ve read about Jo Vedlo before. Very interesting story. Its not inconceivable, but highly(!) unlikely.
We will never know for certain, unfortunately.
It wasnt a norwegian musket that killed him but a shot from a pistol besides the king. The bullet was a soldiers button fashioned into a round piece. He was shot at the dide tempel not the frontal lobe. So an assassin from Stockholm was mist likely the culprit
I love this song! Catoleans prayer is also amazing
The battle scenes are from a Russian movie called "The sovereigns servant." The story itself is rather confusing and heavily russian biased (which is to be expected) however the battle scenes and costumes etc are amazing.
Just very inaccurate. The movie makes it look like Charles had a huge army at Poltava, when in reality it was the thin blue line.
@@hentyhistories2687 Oh no, look at this guy.
Vissa klipp är ifrån ”snapphanar”, right?
@@tvaettis0653 Yes.
@@tvaettis0653 yes, med Gustav Skarsgård.
As a history enthusiast, I have found Charles XII to be a fascinating figure, even before I discovered Sabaton's amazing album.
In case you didn't know: The album Carolus Rex was also recorded in Swedish, with the same songs but with Swedish lyrics (they slightly differ). En Livstid I Krig (Swedish version of A Lifetime At War) for example really beats the English version by miles lyric-wise. There's a live recording of this song from their latest tour in early 2020. I really recommend checking it out (with English subtitles on). The whole video is a masterpiece.
The reason Charles may have been assassinated is because he believed that since Sweden was in the right in this war, God in His Providence would not let Sweden lose, so Stockholm had to remove the one impediment to peace. Their king. Charles believed that somehow the war would turn around and Sweden would regain what was rightfully hers. When Charles spoke before the Swedish parliament before he went to war, he said "I have resolved never to start an unjust war, but never to end a legitimate one except by defeating my enemies." So in order to end the war, Charles had to win or die.
If that was the case, why did it take almost three years after Charles' death for Sweden to make peace with Russia?
@@eemelilounela1212 Because Sweden did not want peace on Peter's terms. After Charles' death, peace negotiations started in earnest, but naturally Sweden wanted to save as much as they could. Also, Sweden hoped to have a western power dictate the peace to prevent Peter from controlling the peace process.
He was killed by a norweigan bullet.
@@aDezenT ja
Might i recommend watching/Listening to the song by Sabaton called "The Caroleans prayer"
That is one badass song and its about Carolus Rex's Soldiers and their strong belief in god.
Technically Charles XI's soldiers.
@@TheSimon253 still badass. Walking right up close to your enemy until you see the whites of their eyes before firing. Just proves the power of faith.
For anyone who is interested: The screaming in the background after the chorus (in this video starting at 9:45 and in the original starting 3:13) is : Fr°amat karoliner fiendens dom är här! L°at oss krossa dom! Kasta in dom genom helvetens portar! Which directly translates to: Forward caroleans, the enemies are over there! Let's crush them! Throw them out through the gates of Hell!!
"Fiendens dom är här" översätts till "The enemy's judgment is here". Det syftar på en situation där fiendens dom eller straff är garanterad. Det har inget att göra med fiendens plats.
"Crowned by god not by the church
As my power is divine"
I think this line is a referance to how he himself placed the crown on his head instead of a priest doing it
If you haven't already heard the song "Long live the King" I really recommend it, seeing as it's about the death of Carolus Rex.
The royal armory in Stockholm is an awesome place to visit, i try to take my kids there as often as I can. Great reaction as always.
If you go to Stockholm you should probably head over to Uppsala. In the Uppsala Domkyrka lies the tombs of some kings and queens (most notably Gustav Vasa) as well as Carl Linnaeus. And it's a gorgeous church as well (I am not religious but the architecture is super nice).
King Carl XII was not killed in Trondheim, but in a city further south called Fredrikshald ( now Halden) . In the song Long live the KIng, you hear more of his death, but in the song Ruina Imperii it mentions general Armfeldt who was in Trondheim. He had to take his part of the army and march home to Sweden because of king Carl's death. The march to Sweden was a disaster where over 800 soldiers froze to death, and another 1500 became disabled due to the cold.
Great reaction as always to Sabaton. This song was my introduction to them many many years ago and its still my favourite. Would love to see you react to "The carolean's prayer" some time, think you will like it and your take on the "see the white in their eyes" which only might have been a tactice used by the carolean army?
It's a great song though I must say that even as a non-swedish speaker I prefer the Swedish version. It just sounds even more epic.
I agree (I understand swedish very well tho) I prefer many of the song from the album this is from in swedish, over the english
Everything sounds more epic in Scandinavian languages.
Ny tid nalkas dena tid går mot sitt slut
This is one of my absolute favorites. Listened it way too much while playing Europa Universalis 4. It just hits different while playing the game and also him sitting to the throne as early as age 14 reminds me of Mehmed The Conqueror Of Ottomans. (He was only 16 when he first rose to the throne and 21 when conquered Constantinople.)
Maybe do an reaction video or talk about the Swedish tactics that were very specific to Carl XII soldiers Caroleans (Karoliner). The tactic of “Gå på” or Go on in English. Fired their muskets close to the enemy and then pulled their swords to seek close quarter fighting and push on despite the numbers ahead of em. The Swedes understood the demoralizing effect of hand to hand combat. This tactic made it possible for em to time and time again beat units who had numeral advantage. The Carleans is a very interesting subjekt :)
interesting fact about this album: sabaton was actually persecuted in a way for the creation of this album, to the point of joakim being accused of being a neo nazi sympathizer, as karl xii has been used as a symbol for that group in recent years.
Sjukt från ett allt sjukare land
Thank you for making videos I love history so much and u make my love for it even more Bc u always know something cool that happened in history to go along with the video
One of my favorites, great to finally see it on the channel! This goes really well with the Extra Credits series.
Was waiting for this!
You should check out “Caroleans Prayer” and “Ruina Imperii” from this same album. They follow up the story after his death. Awesome songs too but not as well known as the rest of the album.
Im a swedish person and in school they taught us that a enemy sniper got the kill on Carl XII
I never know there's some song that
both epic and educational at the same time, and your commentary detailed the complete picture of this figure. Thanks for sharing
Thank you for making a promise and keeping it! Great video as always!
I always like seeing stuff that was actually owned by historical figures in a museum. A bunch of years ago I went to the Hermitage in Amsterdam when they had an exhibit about Peter the Great and they had the saddle of Charles XII on display that they got from his horse after Poltava.
I was really looking forward for reaction to this song. My favourite song is Rorkes drift or Wolfpack, but Carolus Rex is surely in TOP 5. I looking forward to see this reaction video!
Ooh, that’s a cool cape. I’d be tempted to wear a replica as a Halloween costume, but it would have to be after work on Halloween, because showing up to a package-sorting job in a badass cape and boots would result in Edna Mode breathing down my neck at best
It amazes me how we have physical possessions of real legendary people. Badass outfit too lol
Btw quick point, he wasnt killed in Trondheim as you said, he was cilled at Fredrikshall or Fredriksteen festning depending what you want to call it. That fortress is in Halden, a city/town very close to the Swedish border in the southern part of Norway. Trondheim is quite a ways north, (middle of the country almost)
Yes this whole album is awesome imo as a Swede i feel much about this album. The movies in the video are 1st from the Swedish movie "Snapphanar" Were Gustaf Skarsgård plays Karl XI (Carolus Rex father who was the big innovator behind the Carolean standing army along with Karl X). 2nd the russian made movie Poltava. Both are good imo.
By the time Carolus Rex (Karl XII) inherited the throne Sweden basically owned the baltic sea having land possessions in Germany, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Finland. Russia didnt have any large ports connected to the Baltic sea and the War was basically about stealing land from Sweden because they (Denmark, Poland/Sachsen and Russia) thought that because Karl XII was only a teen Sweden would have weak leadership. Karl XII not only were a great soldier and commander he instituted laws and process that we have today but modernised. He was ahead of his time and although he was a nationalist he was a great reformer who believed in a multicultural society. He promoted both German and french values and customs and invited nobles and great minds of the time to great seats in Sweden. Many dutchspeaking immigrants joined the Eas india company based from Gothenburg in Sweden.
Many finnish were forced to army by sweden and taxed population in finnish very hard..yet finnish were usually in frontline
@@janicaven7889 Except that they were not considered "finnish", they were considered Swedish. There were no Finland until 100 years later.
@@Guildforsucks except the area have been finnish ..no matter who controlled it...russian or swedish
@@janicaven7889 Yes im not saying Finnish regions were handled good. Just like Ukraine were handled badly as a border state by the russian leadrships. Ukraine means in russia borderland.
Movies called The great Sovereign servant I believe I looked it up I could be wrong
The battle scene is from the battle of Poltava and movie is called Poltava i think
At 2:02. You see Gustav Skarsgård playing Karl XI (the dad to XII that the song is about), in the mini tv-series "Snapphanar" (2006). (The plot was about south Swedish rebels from the 1670's)
Poltava is the movie you were asking about.
Really good song! I kind of see a couple of parallels between Carolus Rex and Alexander the great. Both took the throne young, both military geniuses with exceptionally disciplined soldiers, and both died young
Also, both of them has great metal songs made about them 😉
Both had great fathers ruling before them
Also, both died mysteriously...
@@DamonNomad82 My tinfoil hat is tingling here. There's too many parallels to be a coincidence
I love this video and this song. A new favourite. Thanks for introducing me to it! :D SEE CAROLUS RISE!
Just discovered this song … awesome of awesomeness
On his death: He was almost killed a hundred times in battle before this, most likely hes luck just ran out. But who knows we can't know for certain. Sweden was seriously exhausted and at a breaking point by 1718 and yet the war lasted 3 more years after the death of the king. Many understod what the king would never admit, that the war was hopelessly lost. Sweden did not have the manpower to contest all her enemies at once. Sweden will still have to fight of the Russians outside Stockholm before people come to there senses and finally admit that the war is totally lost and territory will have to be abandoned. At the time the country had been at total war for 21 years, one third of all men in Finland and Sweden are dead Finland is occupied and the only people who keep the country going at all are the widows of a dead generation of men. Experiences like this are the reason Sweden has insisted on neutrality in war.
As a Swede, my first memory regarding Karl/Charles XII is when my mum told me about how her history teacher jokingly referred to him as "Kalle Dussin", which basically translates as "Charlie Dozen". ;p
Interesting thing about the lyrics about Charles being king comes straight from God and his power is divine, he is said to have taken the crown on his coronation from the hands of the priest or whatever and crowning himself since the power didn’t come from the church, they weren’t supposed to give him the power, it was already his since God gave it to him
Looking forward to see sabaton live in january! Hopefully they will play this amazing song then!
They did it at the show here in September.
I've seen the uniform and it's really cool, the fact the dirt on the cloak still is there and preserved makes it even cooler.
This is up there with Fields of Verdun and Bismark as my favorite choruses of Sabaton songs
I once saw his uniform where it is preserved in the state armory. There is still Norwegian clay on his boots and remnants of his blood on the cape.
The king was exiled to Ottoman Empire after he lost the war with Russia. He stayed pretty long time. His expenses during his long stay in the Ottoman Empire were covered by the Ottoman state budget, as part of the fixed assets (Demirbaş in Turkish), so as the Turks we know him with his nickname Demirbaş Şarl (Fixed Asset Charles).
He effected Ottoman rulers and played a prominent role in start of Russia-Ottoman wars.
The main movies used are the russsian movie Poltava and the Swedish tv show Snaphanar
Hi Chris, great reaction video as always.
The scenes are from "Sluga Gosudarev" a russian film
All the ministers, the French envoy and the soldiers followed him and headed for the coast under a hail of musket bullets. The King, who had never heard such shooting before, asked Major General Stuart what the muffled whistle was. "This is the sound of bullets flying at you." - "Fine! Karl exclaimed. "From now on, this will be my music."
- Voltaire "The Story of Charles XII, King of Sweden".
Its always amazing to play as Carolus Rex in empire total war, the RP by itself its wonderfull, but the campaign its also really fun having to fight 2 major powers early on
Sabaton also has a song about his death "Long Live the King"
Konungens Likfard and En livstid i krig, are my favorite songs from sabaton even though i dont understand swedish, would be nice to see a reaction from you!
keep up the good work!
You mentioned the entrance wound being larger than the exit. This could be due to the fact that back then their projectiles weren't fired from rifled barrels. So the projectile could have been shrapnel that was tumbling awkwardly and enters lop sided and exited in a more straight course. Just a thought. Loved the video!
The scenes with Gustav Skarsgård is from a tv-movie where he playes the father, Charles XI.
Time for some Sabaton History! Can't wait to see an upload of that
I don’t love Sabaton but I’ll always come to hang with VTH.
The movie is Poltava.
And you should look at the 30-years war.
Sabaton sings about that to on the same album and the start of the Swedish Empire and the king Gustav ll Adolf ( Gustavus adolphus).
Have been to the Royal Armory and can confirm its well worth the visit. As is Stockholm generally (the old city is nice).
The movie scenes are from a movie called Peter the Great
Good video, but a little detail here that was wrong. Charles XII was not shot while besiging Trondheim, but Fredrikshald (today Halden) some 800km from Trondheim. The fortress where he was shot (Fredriksten) was also the location for the metal festival where I for the first time saw Sabaton live in 2014. The stage was apx 250m away from where historins think he fell
i dont know if has been mentioned but the movie itself is called "Sluga Gosudarev" or "The Sovereign's Servant" it is from 2007. Russian movie about the war against sweden in their big push towards Poltava
Where they show the caroleans in the clip is called "Snapphanar" I think. an old swedish short ish film I think
In the song Konungens likfard , they ask was it one of his own that took the deadly shot, its sickens the army to think so.
Oh it was not in Trondheim, it was Fredriksstens fortress outside Halden wich is in a different part of Norway.
Battle scenes are from russian movie Sluga gosudarev/The Sovereign's Servant (2007). It's mainly about 2 french cavaliers, They fought for 1 woman, and are punished by king, who send them both as his emisars/observers to the northern war. One as a servant of tsar Peter the Great, one as servant of king Carolus.
Others scenes I guess are from polish film Potop/The Deluge (1974), which is about different northern war. And second film of Hoffman triology about three main wars waged by Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 17th century (against Tatars, Sweds and Turks). For me, Deluge, about swedish war is a best part of triology.
Can't wait when you do a reaction on Lion of the North a song also from Sabaton that's also in the Carolus Rex album.
These battle scenes are from the movie Slaget vid Poltava (Battle at Poltava).
A very good russian movie.
The crown passed to his sister, Ulrika Eleonora, after he died. When she married, her husband Fredrik the first became king. And that was the first monarch not to be of the Vasa-family (or strongly related to Vasa) after Gustav Vasa himself.
I love this song!
First off, The movie you asked about I think is simply Called Poltava, if I recall correctly its a russian made film.
Secondly, as a Swede I was taught in school that Carolus was shot by a button that had been converted into a bullet which can be seen at a museum here in Sweden
and that we still dont know if he was shot by Norweigan or Swedish soldier.
His death is still being investigated.
And lastly, thank you for your videos, I have been following for awhile now and really like your content and insights into the subjects we watch here.
Sadly, you didnt listen to the swedish version of this song, which in my opinion is best ;)
I must say, its really evident when they make the song in swedish and then translate it into english. Its even better in the original (swedish). I guess it comes down to differences in theme.
Still a good song.
@traceurs619 This one is translated almost word for word. But that does not transfere all the sub-meanings in the wording. Things like gramatikal changes for effekts or the way using one particular word instead of another carries meaning is different in English and Swedish. Thats why its extreamly hard to get the same feeling in a translated song.
But yes, you are right in that they sometimes change the text so the words are not the same but they tries to keep the feeling instead.
News article out this month on findings of his death - the article says grape shot and not musket fire from his forces
Karolinens Bön and Ruina imperii are the most hard hitting in the album imo
About four of my all time favourite Sabaton songs are on this album - Carolus Rex itself, En livstid i krig, Konungens likfärd and Lejonet från Norden. In Swedish, not English, naturally.
Hey Chris, love your videos. Big fan from brazil, it would mean a great deal to me to see you reacting to smoking snakes, a sabaton song about 3 brazilian soldiers who held a squad os germans to theirs last in italy
On Steam they have a game called Great Battles of Carolus XII
I don't now if people has mentioned the movie. But I'm pretty sure it is the movie Poltava.
Im pretty certain that one off the movie clips is from the swedish film snapphanarna with Gustav Skarsgårds
A point with "Not crowned by the church as my power is divine...." was Carolus Rex crowned himself which was a big scandal at the time. Sweden was also protestant so we were not under papal rule at the time.
Fun fact: In the beginning of the video we see Gustav Skarsgård, son of actor Stellan Skarsgård, as Karl XI (Karl XII's father), from the tv-series Snapphanar. So the beginning of the video is kind of mixing up stuff.
I dont know if someone in the comments already has answered your question bit the movie is called snapphanar it is on youtube actually and nowhere else and its for free.
Its not about Charles XII its about the war between Sweden and Denmark Charles XII's father is in the movie though
From what I have read (quite new studies from what I know), they did a measurement of the wound of his corpse to see what kind of round could do the amount of damage and what velocity it would have to have... And the only thing they found was that it probably would have been a fragmentation round from a canon that hit him. Now if that is true or not, who knows....
People do forget that Karl 12 is the same guy who got bear so drunk I fell out of 3 floors of windo in the royal palace in Stockholm.
O and if your interested in Swedish history. Check out the battle of Lund where his father was in command. 8000 Swedes vs 12 000 danish. You would be surprised how bloody the battle was. The Swedish king during the battle rode in front of the danish army to secure the flank, then road back. Or the march across the belt, where the Swedish army froze the sea to invade Denmark during the winter.
Highly recommended you check a band called Follow the Cypher. They have. Fantastic cover of Carolus Rex
legend has it that he could not be killed by bullets. He would empty the lead out of his shoes after battle. So a Swedish battle tired soldier took a button from the kings own uniform and used that as a bullet to kill him
name of the movie is battle of poltava.
About 20 years ago I purchased VHS tape on the Life of Peter the Great. My kids swear that it was Peter's life in real time. The tape was at least 3 hours long and possibly 6 hours. It did have great fight scenes. The initial fight scenes you showed may have been from that movie. The uniforms were very well done as were the military formations. Also the actor appears to be the same that played Charles the XII.
Need to check out D'Artagnan's song "Wallenstein."
If Im not mistaken, the swedes should have spears in those battle scenes? Used for their "gå-på" (keep on walking) strategy which served them well before except here(scene) in poltava...
(Also the strategy of "gå-på" reminds me of the vikings svinfylking(boar snout) strategy to quickly break the enemies formation and cause disarray.)
Did you recognize "Floki" from "Vikings"?!😁 Well, Gustaf Skarsgård... Starring as king Karl XI in this video... (It is Karl XI, because the footage is from a movie, about the Danish guerilla army, during the war between Sweden and Denmark ).
I think he was standing out on the battlefield a bit too much so a enemy said look theres the king pulled his gun out and made a 360 no scope
"All over Europe my rule shall be questioned by none... well didnt work out at the end " that killed me bro, lmao